The Hunger Games: Wolfheart
by ClockworkKnight
Summary: During the 75th Hunger Games, tributes Christian Summers and Sabrina Maplegreen of District 7 get drawn into a conflict that involves rebellion against the Capitol with tributes Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark of District 12.


Wolfheart: Chapter 1

-This story takes place during the 3rd Quarter Quell, otherwise known as the 75th Hunger Games. My name is Christian Summers. I'm from District 7. This is my story.-

Gray sunlight poured in through the window, harassing my eyelids and making me wake up. Interceptor gave me a sad look when I blinked into focus. Giving him a reassuring smile, I simple shake him to give him some promise, that hopefully, I will not get reaped for this year's Hunger Games. Which is in fact, today.

I climb out of my sheets and steady myself to get ready for what could be my last hunt. After taking a silent bath, I put on a shirt, jeans, and button up my jacket. Interceptor follows behind me in my quiet wake to the kitchen. My older brother Hector is on the couch when we walk in. The kitchen is split into two halves: By itself, and a living space for Hector. It seems he was drunk again, due to his wheelchair flipped to one side and a small pile of bottles that laid around. I prop back up the wheelchair and organize the bottles. He does this often, mostly to drown out the flashbacks of my dead parents when he's at work, because it was also the same place they worked and died. But the good thing is is that he's sober to talk to me normally when he wakes up.

I pop open one of the cabinets and start loading up the food Hector makes before he goes to sleep in my "courier bag." I also take out a leaf and ash stick and begin writing a note to Hector:

"Hector, off to go hunting again. Promise to be back in three hours, hopefully I can find more squirrel and make some of that stew you made a couple months back; it's what I'm craving nowadays. Chris."

I leave the note on the table and head out to the open world.

The part that I live in District Seven is called the Buzzmill. We're nicknamed that cause we're the only District that works all day chopping trees, turning it into logs, and meeting the daily quota from the foreman. As soon as we step out of our cabin, already gigantic, mechanical reapers are tearing down a great oak that falls with a big _WOOSH! _sound. Interceptor and I hurry and pretend to fall in line with teenage woodcutters. A few miles south, we ditch and make a quick right towards the Fence. Twenty meters high, barbed wire, it provides defense from predators, but isolation for us from the world. What also gives the Fence the tick is that its charged with electricity, closing us off from Panem.

But the Peacekeepers here don't care about us, and Hector was lucky to turn the power on every three hours; that was when he was ten, but it cost him his leg. Which is why he uses the wheelchair.

Interceptor and I head over to a weak part of the Fence. My father, Hector, and now I use this to get through the Fence for hunting. Dad first made the hole, Hector widened the hole, and I added another hole for Interceptor. We quietly hear the Fence to check if the electricity's on - and with a sigh of relief, it's off. I undo the wires that covers the man-hole and Interceptor and I crawl through.

The vast open forest had transformed into a grassy plain area. To me, leaving the Fence was like a fish finding itself in a huge big ocean when its egg is cracked. And it sure feels good. I head over to a nearby boulder and push it aside with Interceptor backing me up. Underneath was a hole filled with some of my most prized possesions: My father's crossbow, and my mom's lucky charm necklace. After the logging accident that killed my parents and a few others, Peacekeepers arrived a few hours with their remains as dust in a box. The only remnant of my father was his ring (which Hector wears) and my mom's charm necklace.

I take these gifts from the hole and take them with me for my hunt. I tie the necklace around and arm the crossbow with the bolts. Interceptor and I wait and slowly make a small fire to keep us warm while I wait for my, well, girlfriend, Sabrina Maplegreen.

Sabrina is about everything I hold most dear to my life. Her influence helped me be more open to people since my parents died. Her dad was killed in the accident as well, and her mom was always away on Peacekeeper missions. But it was her beauty and charisma that broke my silence after their deaths by talking, and singing to me out of it.

She comes five minutes later, carrying a dark bow. Sabrina's got light chocolate skin, and jet-black hair going down to one side, revealing bangs. She has a face that radiates pure beauty, with her twinkly brown eyes and kind smile. I've been teaching Sabrina how to hunt since we first met. She's rather good with a bow, and sometimes, would hit her target in the eye. Yup, that's Sabrina alright.

"Hey babe," she grins, kissing me full on the mouth. "Hey gorgeous, I see you got the bow Willow Mac gave you."

Sabrina protrudes the dark bow. "Thanks to your squirrels. What about your part of the deal?" She says slyly. Can't help but admire her doing this. I hand her a quiver of arrows. She slings it over her shoulder and kisses me on the cheek. "Thanks Christian."

We head north to a huge thicket of trees up in the mountains. I tell Sabrina that we have only two hours to hunt before the reaping begins so we gotta make it quick. The further we delve into the woods, the sinsister the trees are as they cover the sky with their towering branches. Sabrina starts gripping my arm tighter. "You sure there's game this way babe?" Sabrina asks nervously.

"It's the only place now since the last forest got taken down by Reapers." I said quietly. Interceptor then issues a low growl. "Wait a sec, Sabrina." I say quietly.

Then the gray blur strikes.

I wake up a few seconds later, this time on the ground with a wolf ready to eat me alive on my chest. The world suddenly goes slow, and my eyes are looking around in a weird yet fluid motion. Then I see Interceptor charge in from behind and knocks the wolf senseless to a tree.

I snap back open and I get up instantly. I grab my crossbow and load a bolt from a my quiver. I look around and see that it's not just one wolf, but a pack of them. Fangs dripping, eyes in a frenzied state, yup. They sure want me alive. I shoot one wolf in the paw while Interceptor bites them on the back. The mastiff is on a roll, throwing one wolf to another and biting their ears. There's so much bloodshed. I load more bolts into the crossbow and fire more shots at them. "Fuck." I curse, missing one. Then Sabrina shrieks, "Christian!"

_THOOMP_.

An arrow flies and buries itself on one wolf. I look and see Sabrina up on a tree firing her bow. "That's my girlfriend!" I cheer. I take one wolf down, and one on the head. But Sabrina, sheesh. She's reloading faster and quieter than me. She takes out more wolves than me and the rest scamper back off in the wild. I head over to Sabrina's tree and catch her fall. "Never. Gonna climb trees. Again." She huffed, breathing heavely.

I kiss her blissfully on the mouth. "You were awesome." She kisses back. "Thanks babe." Sabrina says, snuggling her head into my chest. "Now, what are we gonna do about these wolves?"

It turns out, we killed a lot of wolves. We know from the start that we can't haul all them back to the Hut, which is District 7's black market, we decide to take the biggest wolf we can find (mostly cause the butcher likes their meat and the leatherworkers use the fur for jackets) and take it back to the Hut. Along the trek home, Sabrina couldn't handle carrying her wolf, so I had to haul hers together while she snuggled herself in my arm. What a couple.

We arrived at the Buzzmill at around nine thirty, but first we made a quick stop at the Hut to sell the wolves. It was an abandoned lumber camp that was then turned into a place of hidden trade, and into a black market for the other districts. We push through the back entrance and are filled with the odor of cooking food. The Food Quarter is mostly where I hang out after hunting, and all my clients are on good terms with me because of my game.

Willow Mac waves to me from his stall in front of us. "Ooh, wolves. I got what you need kids." He welcomes with a cheery tone. He was tall, and rather a chubby person with a beard that would move like the leaves in a willow tree (hence the name). Willow Mac and I go way back: Dad took me one time hunting to hunt a bear, and he brought Willow Mac to make snares as the distraction. Dad also told me he was a master of weapons: guns, bows, swords and knives. He also harbors a deep hatred to the Capitol much like the rest of the district because they shot his wife during a riot (it was labled on the news as an accident, which is stupid) and he tries his best to hide it by being optimistic.

"For Christian, Hector got your note, so here's some goosling I've saved." He said, passing me a very large and wrapped package that is very wet. "And for the trainee, heh... Got some lamb stew brewed straight from the Capitol. Some lucky lad from District 1 got a hold of a huge food train and has been shipping it out for a profit." He told Sabrina, pressing a rather large pot in her arms. She stares at it in awe. I start to feel kind of jealous of Sabrina now, she gets healthier food than me, but I kind of despise Capitol food, and I love it to see more people having better food, especially people from our District. I grin. "You sure know a lot of people cause of this, Mac."

"Yeeup. Best to get home now kids, we've got reaping in half an hour. Don't want Peacekeepers coming by your place if you're late!" Willow Mac winks. We thank him and continue on home.

It's been kind of quiet along the trail. Then Sabrina speaks. "We'll share it. You, Hector, and I. The lamb stew."

"It's yours Sabrina." I tell her. "No, but I don't like to see people like you and Hector hunting for food. It's just that... I feel spoiled and all, just watching them eat bits of meat and me having a fancy dinner.."

I slowly turn and kiss her. "You're not spoiled." I say to her. "You're just lucky. Do whatever you want with the stew, I don't care."

Sabrina sheds a tear and hugs me. "Thanks babe. So we still gonna share it?" She asks.

"Yeah, I guess." I smile.

We head over to my place. Hector's up at the kitchen, whistling and already dressed for the reaping. He's got a shirt, brown jacket, jeans, and boots on. He sure knows how to dress nice for a disabled brother.

"Hey Christian." He whistles while frying eggs. "Hey Sabrina."

"Hi." Sabrina says quietly. "How'd the hunt go?" Hector asks.

"Well, we got to kill a couple of wolves, and Willow Mac traded it for some goosling. And Sabrina got some Capitol lamb stew." I tell him.

"Hmph. So he does have goosling... But congrats Sabrina, you deserved it." Hector says but scowls after. "Get ready for breakfast. We've got a big day ahead."

"Well, what about me?" Sabrina asks. "I brought some lamb stew..."

Hector looks at her quizzically. "Hmm. I think, we can fit her in one of Mom's old dresses..." He ponders. "Have Sabrina take a bath first. And give her the oil treatment. Christian, you go and help me set up breakfast." Hector orders.

It felt awkward, helping my girlfriend into a bath. But Sabrina didn't mind. I mean, Hector did healing one year back, and we got loads of woodcutters lining up and using the bathtub as a healing pool. When she comes out in Mom's dress, she looked way radiant. The dress was blue and flowery, and the matching short jacket was good too. Hector even said "Hell, you can be our mom anyway." Then it was my turn for a bath.

I come out wearing identical clothes that Hector's wearing, and he helps me fix my short hair up with some weird but nice smelling gel.

"... And also thank our lovely friend Sabrina Maplegreen for sharing her lovely lamb stew from hunting." Hector cites grace before breakfast. "Bon appetite! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" He says, mocking a Capitol accent. Sabrina giggles, but I don't. We continue on with breakfast anyway.

You see, that quote is used for the Capitol's (I guess 'national sport' would be nice) Hunger Games, and it means if you're lucky to get reaped (your name gets picked in a ball full of other teenager's names), the outcome can either be you win, or be killed. Seventy five years back, the Capitol of Panem began. No one knew where they come from, but they took over this land once called North America in one swift move. Then came the 13 Districts. And what also came was the Dark Days. Thirteen districts rebelled, one except all were obliterated. And that was District 13. The rest of the districts were forced to sign the Treaty of Treason, which meant that, as punishment, each district must give up one boy and one girl, between the ages of twelve to eighteen, called tributes, to be trained in the arts of war where they will be fighting each other to the death. Once the winner is found, the district they came from is rewarded with endless food for a year until the next year's Games. The only issue I have is that, will I get reaped?

I try take my mind off of the Games and enjoy what could be my last breakfast. Hector and Sabrina throw a tea party and use their Capitol accents while I play waiter. (My accent isn't so bad, but they're better than me) After we clean up, we walk together to the Justice Building, where the reaping ball awaits, or everyone's fate is.

A dark and unhappy building awaits us as we reach the Justice Building. Peacekeepers line us up according to age and gender, so I give up holding Sabrina's hand. She gives me a sad look while Peacekeepers help to her line.

Endless silence for an hour. Then the mayor and his family, our district representative, and the previous victor of a past Hunger Games step up the podium. As usual, the mayor begins the historical speech of how Panem was founded and the Hunger Games, before he passes it to our representative, Tiberius Hammersmith. He looks rather odd, like all the Capitol people. He's got green spiky hair and earrings, and blue eyeliner. I think of him as a clown that I saw in history books.

"Oh how I love the smell of that speech - Oh! Hello District 7!" He begins in his optimistic Capitol voice. "Happy 75th Hunger Games! And may the odds," He purrs, "be ever in your favor!"

Some small applause. "As some of you heard, today is the third Quarter Quell!" A loud groan is then passed throughout the crowd. So for the Quarter Quell, it happens every 25 years of Hunger Games. And the Capitol makes the Quell the 'most excitinf Hunger Games you'll ever see' by adding something crazy, to remember that it was our fault who caused this to happen.

Tiberius takes note of it and mentions to everyone, "I haven't finished what I was going to say however. But anyways, for the third Quarter Quell..." He reveals a yellow envelope with the word 3 on it. "To enforce the tributes on fighting the originial way of how the Hunger Games started with no mercy, the challenge for the tributes this year is not to kill each other without mercy, but to also kill the previous victor without mercy." He says solemnly. The crowd looks to each other in question. There's only been one victor for District Seven: Johanna Mason. She won her Games by playing weak in front of the better tributes (called Careers, who consists of Districts 1,2, and 4) and killing them all with a vicious streak and hunted down the rest of the weaker ones. She was the fastest victor, it took her two days.

I look over to Johanna. She's a few years older than me, probably nineteen, and smiles like she's making it fake. Haters gonna hate.

"And now, for our tributes!" Tiberius clears his throat. "Ladies first!"

He walks to the girls' reaping ball. He pretends to play with the audience (which didn't work) by pretending he's gonna pick his favorite slip of paper which has the would-be tribute's name on it.

Time slows down. I look over to Sabrina. She's been looking at me in a concern and unhappy look. I try to give my best reassuring smile before he says the name.

Sabrina Maplegreen.

That's when I drop to the ground.

-End of Chapter One-

Hope you like this chapter y'all! I wanted to bring back readers to familiar things from the HG, so enjoy! Chapter 2 will come shortly.

-ClockworkKnight.


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